


(everything's gonna be better) on the west coast

by eponinegreyjoy



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Backstory, California, Coming of Age, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, Road Trips, Sibling Bonding, Step-siblings, so much backstory honestly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-07-12 00:10:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15983435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eponinegreyjoy/pseuds/eponinegreyjoy
Summary: Step-sibling AU, road trip AU, all the AU.Ten minutes later, the note was left on the fridge, and David was walking out the door with her backpack on his back, and Nikki trailing after him.





	1. david makes an entrance

_While the house was quiet. And my sister slept as we started the drive to California, where it's warmer. Gonna start a new life. -Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness ___

David crept into the dark house, his breath cold from the slight chill in the spring air. Being back like this, back in this house, felt like winter air blocking out the sun, but he had to come back for her. For Nikki.

____

His hand fumbled for the lightswitch, but when he flipped it up, the house remained dark.

____

“Darn it, Candy,” he mumbled. He got his phone out and tapped the flashlight button, illuminating the path in front of him as he made his way to the stairs. He climbed them slowly, knowing which steps would creak and alert everyone to his presence.

____

When he reached the end of the hall, he approached Nikki’s door. He knocked softly. 

____

“Nik?”

____

He aimed the flashlight around the room to look at the walls. They were just the same as he remembered- posters for Ska bands and messy sketches pinned up on the walls, lava lamps covering the nightstands, walls painted black and purple.

____

“Nik,” he said again, louder.

____

“Davey?” came a sleepy mumble. David sighed in relief and kneeled next to the bed.

____

“Hey sis,” he offered her a tired smile. “What’s, uh, with the lights?”

____

Nikki groaned and snuggled closer into her pillow.

____

“Nikki,” David pressed, using what he called his “camp counselor” voice on her.

____

“It’s no biggie. Mom and Cameron got carried away gambling. You know how they are. And, uh, dipped into the bills money a little. Lights’ll prolly come back on next month.”

____

David put his head in his hands. “How long have they been like this?”

____

“The lights? Not long. A couple weeks.”

____

“No, not the lights.” His voice was achingly gentle. “Them. Candy and Cameron. I thought they quit gambling?”

____

Nikki snorted. “Nah. It didn’t last long.”

____

“Nikki,” David whined. 

____

“Davey~” Nikki imitated. She got up and wrapped her arms around the lanky redhead, resting her head against his shoulder.

____

“You said you’d call if they got bad again,” he reminded her.

____

She pulled away and tucked a strand of neon hair behind her ear. “It seemed kind of pointless. I’ll leave in two years anyway.”

____

David was quiet for a minute. He couldn’t stand the idea of Nikki, sweet, adventurous, vivacious Nikki being stuck in this house for the next two years. What if… no. But would they really care? Nikki was pretty much raising herself at this point anyway.

____

It was a crazy idea, but Nikki loved crazy ideas.

____

She looked at him suspiciously. “You have your thinking face on. Are you gonna do something weird?”

____

He laughed nervously. “Define weird.”

____

“Insane. Reckless. Absurd.”

____

“Darn, you’ve been spending time with Neil lately, huh?”

____

She leaned closer, curiosity in her eyes. “Out with it. What are you thinking?”

____

“...Do you want to leave here?” David asked hesitantly.

____

“Ooh, and go where? Waffle House? Or Denny’s- the perfect place to plan a murder?”

____

David went quiet. Nikki bumped his shoulder with her own.

____

“Come on. Those are the only places that’ll be open this late.”

____

David took a deep breath. “I don’t mean tonight. I mean for a while. Come with me. To my new job, in California. I can take care of you.”

____

Nikki looked at him like he grew an extra ear. “Serious?” She held out her pinkie, and he interlocked his with hers in a vow.

____

“Serious. You deserve more than this house. I’m only a camp counselor, so it won’t be anything fancy, but you can maybe work a little too and-”

____

Nikki grabbed him and pulled him into a fierce hug.

____

“Yes?” he asked her.

____

She smiled in the dark, her fingers and toes buzzing with excitement.

____

“Yes.”

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the chap title is a reference to Be More Chill. BMC fans hmu!


	2. goodbye notes and hello songs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the adventure!
> 
> I'd listen to this while I read, but you do you!
> 
> https://youtu.be/0qKASreVxpc

In his mind, David checked off items from a list of what Nikki needed. Clothes. Contacts. Her ritalin. Did she still take ritalin?*

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, you dummy.”

David packed her pill bottle in her backpack, the blue Japanese one that looked like a cartoon.

“What’ll you do when it runs out?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Spazz out, probably.”

He sighed at her wording but continued pacing around her room, swiping things that looked important and placing them in her backpack. Egg foam face wash. Check. Hairbrush. Check. Scrunchie, for the inevitable moment when Nikki got sick of combing her tangled green locks and opted to just stick in in a bun. Check.

Meanwhile, Nikki did the same, collecting her sketchbooks, wallet, driver’s license, and everything else that she thought she needed or didn’t want to be potentially sold once she left. She looked to her phone, charging next to the bed.

“Ooh, should I toss out my phone? What if they track us down with the GPS or something, like on Criminal Minds? We have to disappear!!” Nikki exclaimed.

David shook his head. “No. Nikki. No. We’re not doing anything wrong. We don’t need to run. Or hide.”

“We should burn our fingerprints off so local law enforcement can’t identify us!”

“NO WE’RE NOT DOING THAT.” David sat on her bed, and patted the space next to him for Nikki to sit. “Listen. This is kind of like a vacation, a vacation whose duration depends on how mad Candy and Cameron get and how bad they want you back. We’re not on the run.”

Nikki’s face dropped. “What if I don’t wanna go back?” She hugged her knees to her chest. “This place sucks. I wanna go on adventures and climb the rockies and camp all the time and get my diploma online and live with you in California.”

There was a pause. Neither sibling really knew what to say. Then, David grabbed a notepad from Nikki’s dresser, along with a glittery purple pen, and handed it to her.

“Write whatever you wanna say. I’ll put it in the kitchen.” he told her.

Nikki smiled wryly. “You could put it in the liquor cabinet. They'd _definitely _notice it there!”__

___"Nikki!” ____ _

__

__Ten minutes later, the note was left on the fridge, and David was walking out the door with her backpack on his back, and Nikki trailing after him._ _

__

__She took a fleeting look back at the house, to see what she was leaving behind. Candy and Cameron were gone, out at a casino, probably, or sleeping at one of their sleazy friends’ houses. The house was dark, lifeless, the only color coming from the sun that was steadily rising behind it, painting the brick pink and lilac. She stepped away, following David._ _

__

__Once they settled into the car, David fiddled with the radio until he settled on a station._ _

__

__He pulled out of the driveway just as a new song began. Nikki reached over and turned it up, and then scooted closer to the window, rolling it down. The rising sun was just beginning to warm the cool air. She leaned over so her head was dangling out the window, the breeze catching her hair and rifling through her tee-shirt. She closed her eyes, stuck her arm out, feeling the wind, and smiled._ _

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Ritalin is used for ADHD, which I headcanon Nikki being diagnosed with when she's older. Idk, I might be projecting a bit (I do the same with her love of Criminal Minds), I like adding parts of myself to the character I write.
> 
> I know these chaps are a little short so the rest will be longer!
> 
> Also big big big thanks to @AkiPyromantic and @Junepinx for their lovely comments! This is my first fanfic on ao3 so ya'll made my day and also gave me inspiration to do a longer, more eventful chap next time.


	3. slurpees and diners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikki and David continue to drive, and along the way, meet a certain green-eyed hitchkiker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a lot longer than my others chaps. I hope you guys don't mind!

Seven hours, two bathroom breaks, and many, many miles of flat, farmland later, and Nikki and David were still on the road.

The road in front of them was empty except for them, and rich green trees, just beginning to gain color back from winter, were spread out around them. Their last bathroom break had been at a 7/11, and two goopy, melting, half drunk Slurpees sat in the cup holders between them.

Nikki groaned. “How far away is California again?” she whined.

“Come on, Nikki!” David said brightly. “Where’s your sense of adventure? We could play I Spy again.”

“I spy something you can shove up your-”

“Alright!” David interrupted quickly. “New plan. How about we talk about what we want to do once we get there? Now, we could probably only afford an apartment for a little while, but in the summers we can stay in these cute little cabins-”

“David, watch out,” Nikki burst in.

David laughed. “You’re right. What am I doing, planning for summer already? I should just stick to worrying about getting an apartment, maybe finding you a job; what do you think about serving ice cream? Wouldn’t that just be like a little indie music video, moving to sunny California, working at a cute little ice cream shoppe and-”

“No!” Nikki screamed. “David. Watch! Out! There’s a kid in the middle of the road.”

It was then that David saw what Nikki was pointing to: a slouching kid in a hoodie right in their path.

Brother and sister screamed together as David slammed on the brakes, said brakes screeching all the while. David threw his arm over Nikki’s chest, keeping her from flying through the windshield, and Nikki in turn moved her left arm over the slurpees to do the same thing.

When the car finally stopped, they took a minute to try and get their breath back and regain emotional stability.

“Holy fuck,” Nikki breathed.

David let out a half-hearted murmur of “language…”, but was breathing too heavily and holding too tight to her to be really intimidating. 

Nikki jumped when she heard a knock on her door, and she let go of the slurpees long enough to reach over and roll the window down.

Standing by her door was the kid, but upon further inspection, he wasn’t really a kid at all. He was probably her age, but looked younger only because he was slouching like a zombie. He also happened to be cute, not that she noticed, mind you. He had medium olive skin and a thick mass of curly hair. His eyes were the brightest green Nikki had ever seen, and she was including the woods on either side of the car. He was gorgeous.

Of course, if Candy taught her anything, it was that boys were often very appealing… until they opened up their mouths. 

Zombie boy was no exception.

“Hey, what gives?” The boy snapped. “You almost hit me with your car!”

David started to open his mouth, probably to apologize, but Nikki beat him to it. “What gives with us? What gives with you? You just walked right out in front of us like some kind of suicidal deer!”

The boy scowled at her. Before either teen could say anything, David leaned closer to them.

“Say, what are you doing walking all alone in the middle of nowhere?” David asked.

The boy rolled his eyes. “None of your business. I know where I’m going.”

“Well. Do you want a ride? We have room in our backseat.” David smiled, friendly as always.

Nikki added in, “I have some slurpee left if that sweetens the deal.” She held the sugary drink up in front of him, swishing the cup around as if to emphasize its appeal.

“Fuck no. I’ve seen Criminal Minds. I’m not getting in a car with strangers. I’ll take my chances getting eaten by a bear,” the boy declared. 

David frowned, but before he could say anything, the boy darted off back into the trees.

David looked shocked, but Nikki recovered quick enough to yell into the woods: “Hey! If we were gonna kill you, why would we give you a slurpee first?”

If she listened closely, she could have heard a soft snort and an answer (“bait, probably”) but their car was already driving again, leaving the green-eyed boy alone with the trees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three hours later, David and Nikki were parked in a small little interstate town, where they went window shopping for an hour or so to stretch their legs. David dragged her excitedly from store to store, babbling about buying her a whole new wardrobe, and maybe a puppy from Furry Babies, and “Oh, Nikki, I know I'm getting ahead of myself but I'm just so gosh darn excited!” Nikki couldn't help but smile at him.

When her mom got remarried, she’d been less than thrilled. Her excitement was piqued a little at the mention of a brother, but he was already graduated, so her happiness dimmed again. What was the point of having a brother if he was never around? It was like having a dad who was never around. Sure, he sent birthday cards every year, and paid child support, and, every once in a while, took her to movies when he was in town and let her eat all the popcorn she wanted, which usually ended in the green-haired girl puking her guts out in the parking lot afterwards. But it wasn’t the same. Wasn’t what she wanted.

Then Candy and Campbell got married, and David shocked her by actually being there.

The first summer they were officially siblings, he built her a treehouse. Then, when that fell apart due to his shitty carpenter skills, they settled for a tent in the backyard. He showed her the constellations and she supplied the mythology behind them, some of her facts from wiki and others she had made up.

They hiked and rode their bikes to little diners, and when Nikki couldn't sleep when she was home alone, David would stay on the phone with her until she drifted off.

“You wanna get a bite to eat?” David asked. She snapped back to reality and nodded.

Together, the two walked over to a nearby diner, and their eyes were assaulted with 1950s aesthetics as soon as they walked in. Wind chimes attached to the door rang as soon as they stepped in.

A cheerful waitress ran over to them like her whole life was waiting for the wind chimes. 

“Well, hello! Welcome to Poppy's Family diner! That’s Poppy-” she pointed to a grumpy, vaguely angry looking man standing behind the counter.”-and my name is Leona! Just the two of you?” she said her whole spiel without taking a breath.

Lucky for her, that's how David operated too. “Well, what a wonderful place you have here! Isn't it great, Nikki?”

Nikki looked around. “I feel like I'm living in the fever dream of a girl who exclusively wears poodle skirts and beehive hair.”

Leona laughed nervously. “Um. Is that a good thing?” She looked to David for guidance.

He smiled brightly. “Of course!” The jury was still out on whether he meant it or not, but the waitress smiled in relief.

“Alright. Anyway. Do you two want a booth or table?”

“BOOTH!” Nikki screamed, with all the passion and fervor of a scene kid at a Panic! At The Disco concert.

Leona jumped a little at her enthusiasm, but led to the two to the table. David ordered a burger and a cherry chocolate shake, and ordered Nikki chicken tenders and a Nutella shake.

They started chowing down right away, eagerly devouring their meal, until yelling interrupted them from their food based stupor. 

“Come on, man! Don’t do this,” someone said, a frantic tone to his voice.

“I am so goddamn sick and tired of punks like you barging in here, expecting handouts from people who actually work for their money. Get. Out.”

Nikki and David turned around to see all the commotion. The man behind the counter had gotten up and close to whoever he was yelling at. The object of his rage was hidden by the man’s tall frame.

“I was going to pay you, really! I’m just hungry, man. And I don’t have money right now. As soon as I get some, I’ll-”

“You’ll do nothing, because you won’t ever step foot in this establishment again. You hear me? I have half a mind to call 911 right now to keep you away for good.”

“Can’t I just do your dishes or something? To work off the food? I only took, like, some fries. Surely-”

Poppy’s yelling drowned out the rest of the boy’s sentence. Nikki and David exchanged a Look.

“Does that guy’s voice sound familiar?” Nikki asked. “‘Cause, I’m like, pretty sure I’ve heard it before.”

Just as David was considering that, Poppy moved out of the way, and David gasped dramatically.

“Oh my goodness, Nikki! It’s the boy we almost hit with our car!”

David’s voice echoed throughout the diner, causing exactly every patron to look at them. Including the boy.

Nikki was startled again by those bright green eyes, but this time, she couldn’t look away at how sad they looked. The boy’s whole face looked about a second away from crumbling. He knew he’d lost.

Maybe it was the freedom going to her head. Or the sugary rush of energy that she picked up from her shake. But…

“He’s with us,” she said. “Right, David?”

David looked bewildered for a second, but then his face was overcome with a giant smile. “Why, of course he is! The more the merrier, I always say.”

Poppy grunted. “Don’t let your bleeding heart fool you. You don’t owe this punk shit.”

David bit his lip under the sharp gaze of Poppy's glare.

“We know!” Nikki jumped in. “Here's our friend.”

“Yeah,” David agreed. “Our great friend! Uh…” he trails off, realizing they never learned the boy's name.

The boy shoved his hands in his pockets. “Max.”

Nikki patted the seat next to her, and Max walked toward her, nervous but clearly trying to play it off.

Poppy rolled his eyes and stalked back to the counter with a mutter of “your funeral”.

“Well, hiya, Max! I'm David, and this is my little sister Nikki. It's just great to officially meet you!” David's smile was reaching blinding levels.

Max wasn't having it. “Whatever, man. What do you want? To sell me to your buddies? Kill me and hide my body in the woods after making my skin into a scarf?”

Nikki giggled. “Wow, you do watch a lot of Criminal Minds. Don't worry, we're harmless. Scout's honor.”

Max raised a brow at her. “You were a girl scout?”

“A flower scout, actually! Until they kicked me out for, quote unquote, ‘not being able to behave myself’. Bitches…” She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and grinned. Max didn't smile (she wasn't sure at this point if he could…) but she saw the corner of his mouth lift up slightly.

“Now, Max. We don't usually use that kind of language at the dinner table. Just so you know.”

Nikki rolled her eyes and made the “crazy” symbol with her hand. Max reached over and grabbed a fry from her plate, and dipped it in the her shake. He made a face.

“Really? Nutella?”

“You don't like Nutella?”

“God, no.”

“Well, my new friend, tough titties. It's what I ordered, and you didn't have to pay.”

He glowered at her for a second, but reluctantly dipped another fry in the shake and shrugged.

“Fine,” he mumbled.

As he eagerly devoured all of Nikki's leftover food, Nikki exchanged a look with David. She was pretty sure her look was more “who is this weirdo kid?” while his was "your food… it's gone” but either way, Nikki didn't mind. She was gonna make friends with the green eyed boy- Max, she reminded herself- if it killed her.

Or him.

This road trip just got a lot more interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll have to forgive all the Criminal Minds references lol, it's basically my favorite show and I like to think that my camper kiddos watch it too. I'm actually watching a CM ep as I type this note and it's really disturbing. Like damn.
> 
> Anyway, I hope ya'll liked the longer chap this time and please give me some feedback! Have a wonderful day and don't forget to smile!


	4. grumpy waitressses are david's kink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max is officially along for the ride, and our final main character is introduced!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I got really stuck writing one specific part of the chapter bc I wasn't sure how I wanted to go about it. Thanks for your patience, and on we go!

Somehow the kid weaseled his way into the car.

“So,” he said, after the meal was done. The three of them were walking through the parking lot, the moon rising overhead and covering the scene in a milky glow. “You losers gonna invite me to your car again?”

Nikki smirked. “I thought we were serial killers who were gonna eat your skin or something.”

Max rolled his eyes. “I said wear my skin. Not eat it.”

Nikki put her hands up playfully. “My bad.”

“And anyway,” Max continued. “It’s not like I want to ride with you guys or anything. You’re just my last resort. All these other guys look like child molesters. One of them tried to recruit me for a cult and I had to jump out the car.”

“Hmm,” David said. “Well, either way, we’re glad you changed your mind.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“I call shotgun!” Nikki cheered.

Once the car was started, David turned a song on the radio, and started humming and then singing.

“You can call me old-fashioned if you wanna, but I wanna take you out to dance!” David sang happily.

Max groaned. “Is he gonna be like this the whole time? Doesn’t he ever get tired?”

Nikki giggled. “Nope! David doesn’t really have an off switch.” She smiled wryly at Max. “All else fails, you could always yeet yourself out of our car too,” she pointed out.

Max shrugged. “You’re not quite at cult level yet.”

The group drove the rest of the night, Nikki and David taking turns driving and sleeping. When they asked Max if he had his license, he wouldn’t give them a straight answer, so it was up to them to do the driving.

Neither one minded. When David drove, Nikki got to doze off against the window, the neon signs and billboards blurring before her half-shut eyes. When it was her turn to drive, David did the same, drifting off to the sounds of Nikki and Max gently bickering back and forth. Every once in a while, his protective nature would kick in and he’d let out a sleepy murmur of “language….” or “eyes on the road, Nik” to which Nikki would poke him playfully and Max would groan.

In the morning, David insisted on stopping at every stateline to take pictures of Nikki by the welcome signs. Nikki, he’d learned pretty quickly since becoming her brother, was a light sleeper who didn’t need much rest at all. Case in point, she’d driven the past six hours, and after a one hour nap when they switched at sunrise, she was just as energetic as usual. At his urging, she struck several poses, doing yoga moves, making a peace sign, even climbing the signs. He gestured for Max to join every time, but Max would only shake his head and slink away.

Then, they'd get back in the car and keep driving.

This went on for some time... until the car ran out of gas. 

David let out a high-pitched “ahh!” and quickly maneuvered the car to the ditch on the side of the road.

“Well,” David said as the car sputtered to a stop. 

“Well, fuck,” Nikki supplied. 

David looked at his empty fuel tank for a second, and then around at the cars rushing by.

“I’m not gonna lie. This is a bit of a conundrum. Max, are you a fan of hiking?”

Max scowled. “I have never hiked in my life, and if Jesus Christ Himself came down here right now and told me to hike with you, I would spit in His eye.”

David opened his mouth, and then closed it. Nikki stuffed her hands in her mouth to stifle her giggles. When she was at last able to control herself, she said, “David, how bout you hike to a gas station and we’ll stay here?”

David frowned. “I don’t know about leaving you kids alone here. Anyone could just pick you up and drive off with you! And I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened.”

Max shrugged. “I think I could live with myself if something happened to you guys. I’ll just stay here with the car.”

Nikki leaned over and punched his arm. “Don't be stupid, Max! A creep would see you sitting alone and kidnap you like that.” She snapped a finger in his face. “We'll stay here and watch the car. You hike to a gas station. And I'll, um, I'll fight off an attacker with a window scraper.”

David hesitated. “I’m really not sure….”

Nikki rolled her eyes. “Davey. I’m fine. I’ll go for the eyes!” She mimed thrusting a weapon into someone’s eye, and David noticed Max’s smirk as he watched her.

It was hard to argue with Max’s seeming approval of the plan, or the gleeful look in Nikki’s eyes at the very prospect of jamming the sharp end of a window scraper into some creep’s eye socket.

“Okay. Be safe, be smart.” He kissed Nikki's head, before awkwardly hesitating in front of Max.

“Don't try it,” the floofy haired teen warned.

David smiled and settled for patting his head, and walked off.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

David could see the gas station in the distance, and quickened his pace. The idea of Nikki and Max being alone made him sweat. He knew that Nikki was a big girl, and was pretty confident that she could do some major damage with the window scraper, but he hated the image of her frightened.

Maybe Max would help her? David knew what it was like to be an angsty teenage boy, mad at the world and everyone in it. In fact, it was Nikki that got him out of that embarrassing phase. He was always angry- at being taken advantage of for his kindness, at the disappearance of his friend Jasper, at having a con man for a father. As far as he was concerned, the world had never given him anything worthwhile. He hadn’t even gone camping or enjoyed the outdoors in months.

And then Campbell insisted on David meeting his fiancé and her daughter.

David groaned and complained, but everything changed when he saw Nikki.

Her green hair was pulled into pigtails and she wore a dirty set of overalls, covered in grime and grass stains like she was a little kid. She looked up at him nervously, and he realized, shocked, that she was scared to meet him. Him, Davey, the kid nobody took seriously.

How many times had she gone through this, he wondered. Candy didn’t seem like the kind of woman who liked to remain single for long. David knew just from Campbell’s stories how quickly she moved from guy to guy, and how little she was involved in her daughter’s life when she wasn’t introducing Nikki to a brand new, shiny family. Had Nikki been strung along countless times before, swept up by a promise of a new family and life only for the relationship to go south? Was there a chance Candy had dated worse men than his father?

And that’s when he realized what had to happen. He had to become her brother, and not just any brother, but the best brother, to make up for all the ways Candy had failed her. He was going to be her new family. He was going to make sure she knew how loved and precious she was.

After all, somebody fucking had to.

The rest was history. He started staying home longer, hanging around and makes her school lunches in the morning (or, when he managed to burn the eggs beyond recognition, he took her to Starbucks on the way to school). He tried to build her a treehouse, and when that failed spectacularly, set up a tent in the backyard. Nikki was the first person to be as enthused as he was about nature.

Well. Nature was better than the busy highway any day.

Finally, David was shook out of his thoughts by the looming door to the gas station. He opened the door and stepped inside.

The whole store was bathed in fluorescent lighting and had the staples of any generic gas station: pillow pets, headphones, weird creepy guys that hung out by the women’s restroom, and a cute little restaurant, right next door. David got the gas and paid for it quickly, not wanting to delay getting back to Nikki.

“So,” he said, trying to make small talk with the grumpy middle aged worker. “Is the diner next door any good?”

The worker shrugged. “I go there for my lunch break everyday and I haven’t killed myself yet, so I’d say it’s pretty okay.”

“Would you recommend it?”

The worker raised his eyebrows at David. “You rich?”

David furrowed his brows. “No…?”

“Ah, okay. Just checking. Rich people have weird standards. Yeah, I’d recommend it. Get the banana pancakes.”

David nodded and smiled at the man. “Why, thank you!”

He carried his gas tank outside, where he started to head back, but changed his mind and strode purposefully towards the diner. Nikki was fine, right? He once saw her bite a mall Santa because she’d just watched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and wanted to see if she’d get kicked out.

(She did. David was banned as well. They celebrated this feat with ice cream.)

Yeah, she’d be fine while David checked out the diner.

There was no bell on the door of this diner, so he walked in without a fuss. The first thing he was greeted with was a sharp voice yelling.

“Come on, Jeff, you fuck! The Andersons’ eggs and toast was due 20 minutes ago!”

David could only see the woman yelling from behind, as she was currently screaming into the kitchen. All he could see was her apron- powder blue, too big for her, triple tied around her waist, mile-long legs, and auburn hair pulled into a messy bun.

A scratchy voice yelled back from the kitchen. 

“I messed up on the eggs, okay? Gimme a minute!”

“I already gave you twenty! Five more, and I'm cutting your dick off and feeding THAT to the Andersons.” 

David winced, and it was at that moment that the waitress turned around to see him there.

“Oh shit, a customer,” she mumbled, her eyes wide. She pasted on a fake smile. “I mean. Hello! Table or booth? As you can see, you can sit pretty much anywhere.” She gestured around to the restaurant, where the only customers were a middle aged couple on their tablets and a clearly drunk guy currently passed out in a booth.

“Well, actually, I'd like to make a reservation,” he stated cheerfully.

The waitress raised an eyebrow. “For real?” Once again, she gestured to the near empty restaurant.

David chuckled nervously. “Well, better safe than sorry I always say. My car ran out of gas, and I can tell my little sister is getting hungry because she's always hungry! And well, we also picked up a homeless teenager, so he might be hungry too. We just picked him up yesterday! Not for any nefarious purposes of course, just out of kindness!” 

The waitress stared at him. “I wasn't thinking nefarious purposes until you said it, so…” She shook her head. “I'm way too tired for this. Listen. Come back in a half hour, and we'll guarantee you a table.”

David grinned. “You can really do that?” he exclaimed.

The waitress fought back a smile. “Sure. Only because you're not a total tool like some people we get driving through.”

“Well, I'm honored! I'm David, by the way.”

“Go get your sister, David.”

David turned out the door, before whipping back around to face the waitress again before he was completely gone. 

“Hey! You never told me your name.”

This time the waitress did smile, though it was more of a smirk. Either way, it did a funny flippy thing to David's heart.

“Gwen,” she said. “I'm Gwen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GWEN!! Lol I've been excited to add her to the story. Please tell me what you think in the comments, and hey! I forgot to pimp out my tumblr. It's not exclusively Camp Camp, but if you'd like to check it out anyway, it's @mitsukoxaki.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and have a happy day! Also pray for me. I'm beginning two more fanfics. *sweat drops*
> 
> Edit: Ah! And the song David is singing along to in the car is called Vintage by High Dive Heart.


	5. angsty teens fight and play pattycake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Nikki wait for David to get back, and talk a little. Max is a little shit (surprising no one). Don't worry, Nikki likes him anyway.

“Okay. Be safe, be smart.” He kissed Nikki's head, before awkwardly hesitating in front of Max.

“Don't try it,” the floofy haired teen warned.

David smiled and settled for patting his head, and walked off.

Once he left, Nikki grabbed the window scraper from the glovebox and stepped outside, swinging the makeshift weapon back and forth. Reluctantly, Max followed her, and joined her when she pulled herself onto the hood of David’s car.

They sat cross-legged side by side as cars raced by. Nikki watched each car as it sped past them, happy just to be outdoors and people watching.

“Do you ever look at the road and realize that every one of those cars contains a person with a whole big brain full of memories and knowledge? They each have their own story. Some of them are driving to towns we'll never see.” Her gaze was wistful, and Max would have accused her of pulling his leg if he hadn't caught the look in her eye that reminded him of sleepwalking and dreaming at the same time.

Weird girl.

He made a show of rolling his eyes. “You're a whole fuckin weirdo, aren't you?” He tried to sound coldly indifferent, but his voice cracking gave him away. He was spellbound by her strangeness, and it was his own awkward teenage body that betrayed him into revealing it.

She smiled. “Guess so.” Sensing his awkwardness, she jumped off the car and pulled herself into a fencing stance, holding the window scraper in front of her. “No matter who they are, they couldn't get past me! I'm a green belt in karate!”

Max snorted. “Only green?”

Nikki shrugged. “Yeah, I got kicked out. Sensei said I was ‘too unruly’. Little bitch.” 

Max laughed.

“Anyway, it was too organized for me. Like. All these strict rules and stuff. Not my thing, you know?” She swung the window scraper through the air. “Besides, it doesn’t matter, my mom didn’t really like paying for lessons so I probably wouldn’t have stayed very long anyway.”

“Your mom, huh?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, what's the deal with her? Why does David take care of you? Are you parents dead or something?” he asked.

Nikki shrugged uncomfortably.

“They’re not dead. My dad’s just MIA all the time, and my mom…Candy does her own thing. It’s no biggie. She married David’s dad, so she did that for me at least. Then yesterday David and I drove off, and then we found you, and that pretty much sums up the whole thing.”

“Yeah?” Max had somehow scooted closer to her while she talked, subconsciously or not, and Nikki felt warmth spread up her arms and onto her collar and cheekbones. She didn’t like talking about this with him, but she liked talking to him. He reminded her of Neil in a way. They were both kind of snarky and enjoyed that back-and-forth teasing.

“Yeah. So they haven’t, like, called the cops yet so I assume they’re good with it.”

“Little Miss Mischief doesn’t want to be a fugitive?” Max teased.

“Of course I do someday,” Nikki laughed. “But not for this. Not for my stupid parents. I wanna go down for something real, like bringing down capitalism or killing a pedophile!”

Max laughed with her this time, but soon stopped and looked at her curiously.

“Do you want them to be good with it?” Max asked.

The warmth in Nikki’s belly faded as she raised a brow at him. “Obviously, yeah. Why wouldn’t I? I have way more fun with David. I don’t want them holding me back.” 

“Yeah, but they’re your parents. Don’t you want them to want you?”

She unfolded her legs and turned to face him. “Why do you care?”

“I care because I’m trying to understand. You just don’t give a shit that your mom might be worried? I mean, she signed you up for karate and you dress nice so obviously she cares a little. And you’re just gonna leave that behind because she’s not fun enough?” His voice dripped with derision and barely concealed anger. For the life of her, Nikki couldn’t figure out why he was pissed.

“She didn’t take care of me, asshole. I was on my own.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Right.”

Nikki felt her temper flare up. “What about you, then? Since you’re so holy. What’s your deal? Do your parents know you’re out here on your own, being picked up by strangers?”

Max threw himself off the car and turned away from her. “It’s none of your business.”

Nikki threw her hands in the air. “Are you kidding? I told you about my life. Now you’re too much of a pussy to do the same?”

“Hey!” Max snapped, turning back towards her and getting in her face. “You didn’t have to tell me. Not my fault you’re so desperate for attention that you’ll tell a stranger your life story. That’s your mommy issues, not mine.”

Nikki flinched like she’d been slapped. Max went pale and tried to take a step forward, but Nikki stopped him with just a fierce glare. Her eyes, angry as they were, were glassy and filled with tears, which made Max’s chest pang.

“You don’t know anything about me,” she spoke, her voice hard. “You don’t know me and you don’t know Candy and you don’t know David. You don’t know that beneath all the goofy jokes and singing, he’s worried sick about me. All the time. He’s told me. He worries when I’m with Candy and Campbell and he isn’t there.” Her gaze was drawn down to the window scraper in her hands. “That’s why we left.”

Max looked at her, this little green-haired, light eyed, kitten that she was, so fierce and happy and energetic, but also so vulnerable.

Look at that, a voice in his head said. The first person who’s actually liked you in forever and you made her feel like shit.

He took a deep breath. “Don’t tell David. And don’t bring this up again, okay?”

Her eyes flickered up to meet his. “Tell David what?”

He climbed onto the car again next to her, and she didn’t scoot away, though they weren’t as close as they had sat before.

“My parents… they don’t care about me like David cares about you. Like how he wouldn’t leave until you said you’d beat the shit out of people with the window scraper. And how he told you that stupid mantra.”

“Be safe, be smart?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah. That. Like, my parents would have just left me on the side of the road. They wouldn’t have even hesitated.” His eyes were downcast, and Nikki felt a twinge of guilt for snapping at him. Even if he did deserve it. “So one day I just left. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t notice.”

Wordlessly, Nikki reached out for his hand, lacing her ivory hands with his caramel hands. To her surprise, he didn’t pull away.

“What do we do now?” she wondered out loud.

“I don't know. Form a ‘we have shitty parents’ club?” Max suggested.

Nikki laughed. “We could celebrate the formation of our club by both getting adopted by David.”

“Ugh, no!” Max exclaimed. 

Still laughing her cute, weird little cackle laugh, a laugh that Max was finding he rather enjoyed, Nikki bumped his shoulder.

Just then, David burst into view, smiling so wide it seemed like he was maybe auditioning for a Crest commercial. 

“Great news, guys!”

“You got gas and we can finally leave this hellhole?” Max griped, letting go of Nikki’s hand and scooting away from her as David came closer.

“Well, yes. But I also found us a place to eat in town!” David said.

Nikki pouted. “I thought we were going to go to Dairy Queen? I wanted a blizzard!”

“This will be even better than Dairy Queen! I talked to the waitress, and I think you’re going to love her! She said she’d save us a booth! And she’s so pretty… I mean, the restaurant is really pretty. There’s a wind chime in the doorway! A wind chime, guys!”

David winced at his own words as Nikki’s face lit up with glee. She bounded off the car and raced to David’s side, knocking the gas can out of his arm and grabbing his hands. She began to spin vigorously, forcing him to turn with her, all while chanting “David has a girlfriend! David has a girlfriend!”

David laughed nervously. “Come on, Nik. Don’t do this to me. Please forget you heard that.”

As Max made his way towards them, she let go of David, letting him walk off to fill the tank with gas, and turned to Max.

“How good is your memory?” she asked innocently. 

He grinned wickedly. “Pretty good,” he answered.

She slung an arm around him. “Sick. I’m guessing your heard about David’s little crush from all the way back there?”

“You know it.”

“And do you feel like forgetting that?”

“Not a bit.”

Nikki smirked, her face showing the mischief only a younger sibling could know. “Well Maxwell, Maximo, Maximino.... I think we’re going to have lots of fun together today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta da! Big thanks to everyone who's waited patiently, given kudos, or commented. Ya'll are the real MVPs and thanks for supporting me!


	6. sugar and spice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shanigans of being a waitress. Small fights. Nikki is a pint sized badass and Max is willing to throw hands over her.

Gwen was ready to commit not alive.

It was a familiar train of thought since she’d started working at The Sunshine Diner, but damn was it extra strong today. First Jeff had burned, like, an insane amount of eggs, so they had to throw the whole pan away. Then the Andersons got all huffy and Gwen had to pay out of her own paycheck to refund their meal. And then, as if her life wasn’t running rough enough, she was chosen to wake the sleeping drunk sprawled across the booth. No one knew his name, only that he came in every Sunday completely wasted and passed out before they could ask him to leave. He was a bit of a staple of the diner, which maybe emphasized its shittiness.

Gwen approached him cautiously, broom in hand. 

Hesitantly, she gave his shoulder a boop with the fuzzy bristles of the broom. He didn’t stir. She poked him again, harder, and he mumbled a bit but otherwise remained asleep.

At the exact moment she was preparing to probe him with the wooden end of the broomstick, she heard the familiar bells chime on the door. She sighed in relief and turned to see the dorky redhead from before, this time accompanied by two teenagers. The man’s eyes lit up when he saw her.

“Gwen!” he called out cheerfully. She gave him a small smile.

Behind him, the two teens looked far too mischevious for her liking. She took a second to access them. The girl was tiny, with green hair cascading down her back in a thick mess of curls that made Gwen feel warm just looking at her. She wore red Vans and a tie-dye tee shirt with the sleeves cut off. Next to her, a boy with his own mess of hair falling in his face stood with his hands in his pockets. When he noticed Gwen looking, he turned to the girl and whispered something in her ear.

Great. Youths. Gwen’s favorite.

The redhead- David, Gwen remembered- stepped forward cheerfully and laid his hand on her arm. “I bet you thought we wouldn’t make it! But here we are!”

“Here you are,” she replied dryly. “These your rugrats?” She raised a brow, pointing to Max and Nikki. 

“Yep! This is Nikki, my baby sister.” He pushed Nikki forward and away from Max. She gave Gwen a small grin. 

“I like your hair,” she said.

Gwen couldn’t help but smile. Her hair was naturally a dark auburn, but in high school, she’d dyed it pink and purple and anything else she thought would scandalize her mami. When she got the job here after graduation, they had a strict no colored hair policy. 

Just last week, though, Gwen thought

_fuck it_

and dyed part of it, the top, a reddish purple.

“Thanks. Back at you.”

Nikki tucked her hair behind her ear and grinned wider this time.

“Thanks! I’m a natural green.”

Gwen exchanged a look with David, who simply grinned and nodded.

David lightly prodded the boy forward. “And this is Max! We just met him, but I’ll vouch that he's a good kid!”

“I am no such thing,” Max deadpanned.

“I have complete and utter faith in him!”

“He really shouldn't,” Nikki noted. Max nodded his agreement.

“Alright,” Gwen sighed. “We’ve got a troublemaker, a natural green, and… whatever you are-” she gestured to David- “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

“Probably,” Nikki and Max said in unison, while David argued, “Of course not!”

“Well, follow me.” Without checking to see if they listened, Gwen walked over to an empty booth, setting out napkins, silverware and menus, with Nikki, Max, and David trailing behind her like little ducklings.

“Any drinks to start with?” she asked once the group was settled.

“Beer!” Nikki inputted.

“No!” 

“Root beer?” she tried again.

“Better! We’ll have two root beers, and Max?” David questioned.

Max looked surprised to be considered at all, before he schooled his face back into a neutral/bored expression. 

“Same,” he told Gwen, and she scribbled it down and announced that she'd be back soon with the drinks.

She returned barely a minute later balancing the tray of drinks in the crook of her arm. Once everyone had their drinks, they began to order. Banana pancakes for David-

“Your friend next store recommended them!”

“Friend?” Gwen thought for a minute until an image of a 40-something year old man with a toupee and dead eyes materialized in her brain. “Oh! Tom. Yeah. He’s alright. He asks me out, like, every time he shows up, but he’s pretty harmless.”

-Chocolate chip pancakes for Nikki, and a burger for Max.

“No sweet tooth?” Gwen asked him.

Max said nothing and instead just handed her the menu.

_Oooooookay, then._

“Not a talker. Gotcha. Anything else for you guys?”

Nikki scanned the menu one more time, her eyes lighting up when she reached the dessert section.

“Ooh! David-”

“Not until you finish your meal,” he told her. He tried to insert a stern edge into his voice, but he just ended up with his voice cracking embarrassingly, and his face went as red as his hair.

“But Daviiiid~” Nikki whined. “Max wants dessert too, right? What if Max orders it and we share? That way, you’re still not buying it for me, but I still get my fudge brownie!”

Max shrugged. “I’ll do it.”

“But…”

“Come on, David! You’re not his parent-”

“Because you’re actually competent at raising a child,” Max muttered under his breath.

“-so you can’t control what he orders, only what you and I do.” She crossed her arms against her chest and tilted her chin up proudly.

“Alright. Max, did you bring money?” David asked, one brow raised.

Max sighed deeply. Nikki caught his eye, and he gave a tiny shake of his head.

Nikki sighed deeply and dramatically, grabbing the menu with flourish and pressing it into Gwen’s hands.

“Take it away! I don’t want a reminder of what’s been ripped away from me so violently.”

Youths.

Nikki, menus in hand, walked towards the back to hand the orders to Jeff.

“Burn it, and I will feed you your own hands."

\---

Roughly twenty minutes later, the group was happily eating their food, and Gwen was once again trying to decide how to wake the sleeping drunk up. Simply prodding him hadn’t worked, and no amount of yelling in his general direction had made a difference. 

She glanced back at the soda machine behind the counter, and all at once had an idea.

It worked in the movies, right?

She filled a glass full of water and hesitantly walked back over to him, hands shaking a little. From the corner of her eye, she noticed David and the kids watching her. This might have been a bad idea, but dammit, she had an audience now, and it was too late to wuss out.

Before she could change her mind, she emptied the water glass directly on the drunk’s head and jumped back as he launched himself up at her.

“The hell was that for?” he roared.

“Uh, sir…” Gwen took several steps back. “I’ve been, uh, trying to wake you for a while, and it was the only thing I thought would work…?” Her voice was several octaves higher than usual, making her sound, to her own ears, at least, like a puppy’s squeaky toy.

He took a threatening step closer to her, and she turned to face Tom, who was frozen behind the counter. “A little help?”

Tom shook his head, clearly terrified, and in the time Gwen took to watch him wuss out, the man had moved into her “personal bubble”, his breath hot on her cheek. Oh, she was so screwed. 

“SIR-” she squeaked.

“You think this is funny, right? Oh look at the drunk asshole, let’s pour water on him, that’ll be hilarious. Well, was it worth it? Didja get a good laugh?”

“N-no! Not at all, I just wanted to wake you up-”

“Hey!” When Gwen turned her head, she saw Nikki standing in front of them, her body in a defensive position, holding something out in front of her like a sword.

_Is that… is that a window scraper?_

“Leave her alone!” she shouted, her eyes not leaving the man.

The man chuckled, disbelieving and mocking, but Nikki didn’t waver. 

“You won’t be laughing when I jab this into your eye! Get away.” She pointed the window scraper towards the exit and took a step towards Gwen.

The drunk looked at David, who was frozen in the booth.

“She your kid?” he growled.

Max elbowed David’s side, until the redhead responded. “M-my sister, yeah. Ignore her. We don’t want trouble, we just want to eat our dinner.”

The drunk gestured to Nikki’s fierce face. “She seems to want trouble. You should do a better job controlling her.”

Nikki’s eyes were fiery. “No one controls me. Not Davey, and not my parents. Not anyone.”

The drunk took a long look at her neon hair, casual outfit, and makeshift weapon. “Clearly. If you were my kid, I’d beat your ass. Or at least get you a muzzle.”

Before David could stop him, Max sprung out of the booth and threw himself at the man, fists first.

“Take that back!” he screamed, more raw emotion in his voice than Nikki and David had ever heard before. He aimed a blow at the man’s jaw, and received one in the gut for his troubles. The two threw several more strikes, bruises blooming on both of their faces and necks, before Nikki threw herself into the brawl, swinging wildly with the window scraper.

Gwen tottered awkwardly at the edge of it all, breathing heavily. She tried to make eye contact with David, but her view of him was completely obstructed by the fighting in between them.

“Hey!” she yelled into the fight. She tried to grab Nikki by the arm, and Max by the shoulder, but they both evaded her grasp.

“David?” she called out. “Got any ideas?”

There was only silence for his answer and she sighed. Slowly, hoping to not be noticed, she crept into the back room to retrieve something.

Meanwhile, the man wasn’t backing down, evidently unashamed of his own behavior of fighting two kids. Nikki, true to her word, was aiming the window scraper at the man’s eyes, though she was too short to reach said eyes, and mainly just jabbed his chest. Max aimed more for the legs, releasing more pent up emotions than anyone would have thought he was capable of.

Suddenly, a loud voice broke into the chaos, and all movement stopped.

“Enough!” It was David, his face a bright red. “We just said we don’t want trouble. How about you go home and sober up instead of using violence to solve your issues? You’re setting a horrible example for my kids!”

The man sneered at him. “What kind of pussy ass bitch-”

SLAM. The man went down, hard, nearly taking Nikki with him, and standing above his crumpled body was Gwen, holding a large metal pot. 

“I got sick of him talking,” she explained, blowing hair out of her face. She untied her apron, setting it on a booth, and took out her ponytail, holding onto the hair tie with her teeth and brushing out the messy tangles as best as she could. She was oblivious to the wonderstruck faces staring at her.

She looked up and raised a brow.

“What?” she mumbled through the hair tie.

“You just totally kicked that guy's ass!” Nikki cheered.

“Language,” David mumbled, at the same time Max sarcastically said it as well, shooting Nikki a smirk.

“Well. I think that decides a few things for me.” Gwen took a deep breath, and threw her apron at Tom, who was still frozen behind the counter. “Tom? Tell the bosses I quit. If they ask why, tell them this.” She raised her middle finger.

She looked at Max and Nikki, both breathing heavily side by side. She’d never wanted kids, never had baby fever, but damn… what kind of kids would physically fight someone for you? Freakin’ awesome kids, that’s who.

She put a hand on Nikki’s head, smoothing down her flyaway hair. Knowing Max would protest similar affection, she gave his shoulder a light punch. Nikki smiled up at her, big and bright.

“So,” Gwen said, moving towards the booth. “How about that dessert? On me.”

Nikki let out a delighted gasp, and raced back to the table, pulling Max along with her.

Ten minutes later, the group was happily going to town on a chocolate cake.

“So,” David began between bites.. “What are you going to do now that you quit your job?”

Gwen shrugged. “How the hell am I supposed to know? I got a liberal arts degree, I don’t have that many options. Plus I have even less options here in the middle of nowhere.”

Nikki took a break from stuffing her face to tilt her head thoughtfully. “What about in California?”

“What?”

“California. Think there’d be more options?”

Max slowly smiled. This girl was a little shit, but she was smart, he’d give her that. He admired that about her.

Gwen blinked. “Yeah? But I don’t have a car.”  


“Well, we do,” David said, catching on. 

Gwen looked around at the group. “You’re serious? I could be a serial killer.”

“Nah,” Max spoke up. “What are the odds of there being two serial killers in the same car?”

Gwen barked out a laugh. She didn’t even know the grumpy teen could joke. She hardly thought he could speak.

“I do have gas money,” she offered.

“And I have my aux cord!” Nikki added.

“I have the car!”

“And I have a headache already,” Max deadpanned.

“Perfect!” Nikki giggled. “Then we’re all ready. Gwen, you wanna ditch this place?”

“Oh, trust me,” Gwen said, already getting up. “I’ve been ready to ditch this place for years.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever and a half, sorry guys. No matter how I edited it I wasn't satisfied, so I put it off for a while.
> 
> But now it's here! And hopefully ya'll like it.
> 
> The economy's rough, comments are low these days. Drop some for me!


	7. of brazil and mcdonald's™

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang picks out a hotel, and get some time to bond. Hex yeah it's Gwenvid Time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have gotten this done sooner except I'm a garbage person. Enjoy!

“So, what’s the plan?” Gwen asked as the group walked out of the restaurant.

“California!” Nikki cheered.

“Okay, yeah, I got that part. What about before then? What are you doing for money? What’s the plan?”

Nikki and David exchanged a Look. “Yeah, Davey, tell her the plan.” Nikki widened her eyes at him in a way that she hoped would tell him

_Think of something!_

“Uh, yeah,” David laughed nervously. “The plan that we totally have. Right. Our foolproof, well thought out, very planned… plan. The plan.”

Gwen facepalmed. “Let me guess. You have no plan.”

“Well…”

“Okay. Where are you sleeping at night?” Gwen asked, trying to keep her cool.

“The car!” Nikki said. “We can recline the seats, and, well, we didn’t really figure in Max being here, but that’s cool ‘cause he can slouch and he’s tiny!” Max raised his middle finger at her, so she did the same and stuck her tongue out, then turned back to Gwen. “So he can just fit in the backseat. I don’t know about you, though…”

Gwen turned to David. “You don’t have money set aside for a hotel?” she asked.  


David looked a bit ashamed, and she felt bad for phrasing it the way she did, like he was some huge idiot who couldn’t take care of his own kid. Kids? His own kids. But honestly, for such a sweet guy, he was hopelessly naive about how long kids could be in a car without going completely batshit crazy.

She knew, too, because she used to work at a local YMCA Camp as a counselor to a bunch of kids aged 5-14, and they were chaotic on regular days. But throw it a field trip and the kids all collectively lost their minds an hour into the bus ride. After an incident that involved Gwen’s bra being thrown out the window and a kid named Nurf setting his backpack on fire (she still didn’t know how that happened) the YCamp quickly introduced a new policy: no more long distance field trips.

She took a look at Nikki and Max. Yes, they were above the age group she had watched after, but the basic rules still applied. Two more days of sleeping in a car, and she was pretty sure Nikki would light herself on fire just for something to do. As for Max, he wouldn’t be content to throw just anything; honestly, he’d probably throw Nikki out the window or something.

No. She was not going through YCamp hell again.

“Alright, not to be critical, David, but your plan sucks ass. Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re going to drive approximately… five more hours, which will bring us to 5:30ish. We pull over, get some food, and find a hotel nearby.” 

She was pretty pleased with that. Five hours was nice, because if they ended up being even crazier than she thought they were, she could hitchhike back.

But David frowned, and his shoulders sagged as his happy demeanor deflated like a leaky balloon.

“I-” He looked to Nikki, then looked away before she could make eye contact. “I don’t have that much money, Gwen. I wish I did, I’d love to stay in a hotel and let everyone sleep in a real bed. I just… can’t.”

Gwen looked at him for a moment, then took a deep breath and responded, “Yeah, you can. I was gonna give you gas money anyway. How about I just pay for a hotel? I have money saved up for getting outta here, and you’re saving me a lot that I would have spent on buses and trains.”

David shook his head. “I couldn’t, really-”

“David, just shut up and take the money,” Max interjected. “We all know you’re going to. Let’s just skip the whole thing where you and Gwen go back and forth and you say no, and then Nikki gives you puppy eyes and you cave like a rotten pumpkin. Just say yes and we can goddamn get moving.”

David paused. “Language.”

“Oh my motherfreaking God,” Max muttered. 

“Well..” David looked around at the group. “I guess if you’re really okay with it…”

Gwen shot him an encouraging smile. David slowly let a smile creep over his own face and nodded.

Nikki cheered, and wrapped her slender arms around David’s waist.

The group left the restaurant, leaving a very frazzled Jeff to frantically call the manager of the place and beg them for help.

-

Nikki once again claimed shotgun, and Gwen accepted that she and Max were the outsiders here, and shotgun privilege wasn’t hers to call. Still, she felt kind of childish in the backseat. Oh well. It was better than the city bus, where the chances of an old lady falling asleep on her shoulder or a gross middle-aged man hitting on her were very, very high.

They drove for a few hours, Nikki’s phone switching between Fall Out Boy, Watsky, and Paramore. She sprinkled a couple Cupcakke songs in there too, amusedly watching how wildly David would react to the lyrics, and it was at that exact time that David let out a yelp and unplugged her phone.

“Time to stop!” he squeaked.

“Aww,” Max complained. “It was just getting good.”

Nikki giggled and David ran his hands through his hair in a frustrated way. Gwen had the feeling David didn't like the idea of his baby sister as a near adult with a possible sex life. In his eyes, Nikki was probably still a little girl.

“Alright,” she said, trying to rescue the poor man. “I'm gonna Google nearby hotels. You guys do your thing. But not with the Cupcakke songs, a different thing than that.”

Nikki and Max exchanged an amused glance, and she twisted back in her seat to show him a photo on her phone.

“That's my friend Neil. He's a dork ass loser, but he's really good at pranks- you'd like him.”

“He know you're moving?” Max asked.

“Yeah, we've been texting. His parents are going through a bit of a messy divorce, so trust me when I say we're coming up with a plan _at this very instant _to buy him a bus ticket out as soon as he turns 18,” Nikki explained.__

__“That's nice!” David exclaimed. He had always liked Neil. “The more the merrier! You could be a golden trio. Hey! And maybe you three could all be junior camp counselors at the camp I’m working at!”_ _

__Max grimaced. “How about we take that idea, and throw it out the window where it’ll never be seen or talked about again?”_ _

__David pouted, but there was no real hurt in his eyes. Gwen supposed he had gotten used to the moody teen’s antics by now. Or, maybe, he was busy coming up with a really, really good argument in his head to change Max’s mind. One of those two._ _

__Gwen took out her android and googled restaurants that were near hotels. There were a few options that she screenshotted, but she kept looking to make sure they weren’t missing anything._ _

__“Alright, kids- and David,” she said after a couple minutes. “Here are the options. We could stay at a Best Western 20 minutes away, and there’s a Chili's nearby we could walk to-”_ _

__David’s eyes widened with the long-suffering look of someone who spent a lot of time with a teenager, and Nikki, almost in response, yelled an enthusiastic, **“Hi and welcome to Chili’s!”**_ _

__“Okay, just for that, we’re taking Chili’s off the table,” Gwen said. “There’s McDonald’s, Culvers, Pizzeria Uno… anyone have a thought?” Nikki raised a finger and opened her mouth to speak, and Gwen quickly added, “that isn’t a vine reference,”. Nikki put her finger down and pouted slightly._ _

__David shrugged happily. “Oh, I don’t care! I’ll go with whatever everyone else wants.”_ _

__“Okay.” _Thanks for the help there, David._ “Max? How about you?”_ _

__Max raised his eyebrows and straightened up from his slouch against the window to look at Gwen  
oddly._ _

__“You can choose,” she told him. He seemed stuck on that fact. “Whatever you want. Except Chili’s.”_ _

__Nikki flipped herself over the seat to stare at Max. “Say McDonald’s!” she stage-whispered._ _

__Max rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever. McDonald’s is good.”_ _

__“Nikki,” David scolded gently. “It’s not your pick. Max, ignore her, pick whatever you want.”  
Max thought for a minute, then looked up at Nikki’s hopeful face, her chin rested on the back of the seat._ _

__“I like their fries. I’ll stick with Mcdonald’s,” he declared. Nikki let out several loud whoops and he smiled, really smiled. Gwen was taken aback._ _

__They drove a little longer, a car ride that consisted of Max and Nikki quoting vines at each other, until David saw the giant yellow arch and pulled into the parking lot._ _

__The group ate leisurely in the playroom, and when they were done, Nikki convinced Max to climb up into the play area with her._ _

___Kid, you’re so whipped._ Gwen thought as she watched him trudge behind Nikki, despite his clear lack of enthusiasm towards crawling in the small, cramped kid’s play place._ _

__While the two of them disappeared amongst net ladders and twirling slides, Gwen took out her phone and started checking into the hotel on their website._ _

__“Hey, how many rooms are we getting?” Gwen asked._ _

__David said, “It’s your money,” and Gwen clicked on the pricing page. The two exchanged a shocked look at the price of two rooms._ _

__“Alright, so we’re sharing. Cool. We can figure that out.”_ _

__Gwen finished filling out the rental form, hit submit, and shoved her phone back in her pocket. When she looked up again, David was staring._ _

__“Take a picture, dude,” she said instinctually. “Sorry. What’s up?”_ _

__David shook his head. “Sorry I didn’t mean to be, uh, stare-y.”_ _

__“Creepy?”_ _

__“Yeah, that’s the word. I just-- I don’t know how I could thank you for all of this. I guess you can probably tell that I’m not good at this kind of stuff, huh?”_ _

__Gwen grinned. “A little. But it’s no problem, seriously. I needed to get out of that town. You guys gave me a reason.”_ _

__“Yeah?” David turned in his chair so he could look straight at her. “Why did you stay ‘till now? If you don’t mind me asking, I mean.”_ _

__“No, it’s cool.” Gwen waved his concern off. “Uh, my parents grew up with not much money. First generation immigrants from Brazil. So me going to college was like, a really big deal. Even though everyone knew I wasn’t feeling it, I graduated and went off to college the next fall. But, uh…”_ _

__She laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head._ _

__“You don’t have to--”_ _

__“Nah, man. I told you it’s good, remember? I went through a really bad bout of depression after my abuelo died. Even months after he was gone, I just couldn’t bounce back. So, I dropped out for a little while to get my head in the game, and, I don’t know, life got in the way. I decided to stay at the diner instead of going back.”_ _

__David didn’t show any judgment on his face, but Gwen felt uncomfortable anyhow._ _

__“What was your major?” David asked casually._ _

__Gwen let out a relieved laugh. “Liberal arts.”_ _

__“Nice, nice.”_ _

__“You?”_ _

__“I didn’t go to any university,” David admitted._ _

__“Why?”_ _

__“My dad was this really successful businessman. So, I had a job already ready for me when I graduated high school.” David cringed. “That sounds really privileged and obnoxious, doesn’t it?”_ _

__Gwen smiled. “Yeah, a little, but it’s fine. Do you still work for your dad, then?”_ _

__David made a disgusted noise at the back of his throat._ _

__“Daddy issues?” Gwen questioned innocently._ _

__“Something like that. Let’s say I didn’t want to follow in his footsteps. So, I mostly did my own thing until Nikki came along and I started staying around for her,” David explained._ _

__Gwen nodded. “That’s sweet.”_ _

__They smiled softly, the moment dragging on for longer the past minutes seemed to go. It left Gwen confused. She didn’t fall easily, in love or friend love. She dated one guy in her junior year, and another in her freshman year at university, and that was it. Apparently, she had “issues opening up to people”, if her exes were to be believed._ _

__She couldn't argue the fact, really, but she didn’t see it as a bad thing. Girls like Nikki-- they get taken advantage of. Of course, any guy who hurt Nikki would meet the business end of a window scraper, but the point still generally stood. Friendliness is often mistaken for naivety, and kindness for weakness. She hoped Nikki wouldn’t have to go through that like she did-- who knows, maybe guys in California were less asshole-ish than in Ohio?_ _

__It didn’t sound very likely even as she thought it._ _

__But maybe things would be different for both of them from now on. David already knew more about Gwen than anyone from her hometown did, and it seemed like Nikki may have found the perfect friend-- Max, though he’d never admit it, seemed like he needed a friend to fight all that loneliness and gloom away._ _

__Yes. Things might be changing. For the first time in a while, Gwen felt herself hope._ _

__The warm feeling in her chest was pushed to the side as panicked shouting rang through the air._ _

__“We gotta go!” Max yelled, running up to them with Nikki behind him._ _

__“What’d you guys do?” David yelped, looking back and forth between them._ _

__“Alright--” Nikki started. “Let’s get one thing straight.”_ _

__“A kid called her ugly so she pushed him down the slide,” Max deadpanned._ _

__David’s face was stricken._ _

__“H-he’s not, like, dead… is he?” David asked._ _

__He quickly went through first aid protocols he had learned over the years. Um…_ _

__“Yeah, David, the kid tumbled two feet onto a soft floor, and died instantly. Poor little bastard, never even knew what hit him,” Max smirked._ _

__“Psh, he’s fine. He’s mostly just pissed off. And so are his parents. Hence, uh, we gotta go.” Nikki gestured to the exit._ _

__Gwen sighed. “Why do I feel like someone’s going to _actually_ die before this trip ends?”_ _

__“Someone will die of fun!” Nikki corrected._ _

___Yeah. Right._ _ _

__“Let’s go then,” Gwen said, and all three of them followed her past the angry family to the exit._ _

__“No eye contact,” she instructed. “Don’t make it worse. And don’t be scared. Little kids and angry parents can sense fear.”_ _

__When they were finally out, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief, and got back in the car to drive to the hotel._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, references. Watsky is an alt rapper and I loooove him, and I headcanon that Nikki would too. He has a song called Hey Asshole that I found on a 8tracks Max playlist, so you should check that out. And let's not pretend Nikki isn't a Parawhore. It's in her essense.
> 
> And I actually went to YCamp! I thought it was cool but I'd never want to be a counselor there lol, we gave them hell.
> 
> Also say farewell to my happy Criminal Minds references, the showrunners did us dirty in the finale and now I'd be ashamed to reference that trash fire show. (Still like old seasons tho.)
> 
>  
> 
> As for the next two chaps, I'm really excited about them as they contain scenes that I've been planning out since before I even published chapter 1.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading, lovelies! Be back soon-- a lot sooner than this chapter was.


	8. meet me at the hotel pool (and know it's only me and you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Nikki get to know each other a little bit more, but something catastrophic is lurking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from the song Hotel Pool by Lily and Madeleine.
> 
> First of all, I am so sorry for the delay! I think this might be the longest time between updates so far, and I'm really disappointed in myself for that. I've rewritten this chapter three, maybe four? times, and each time I was dissatisfied and I wanted to give you guys something better. Last week, I scrapped about fifteen pages and totally started over, and _finally_ I was on the right track.
> 
> Thank you for being patient.

The hotel was by no means fancy, but it would do. The room they all shared was a touch claustrophobic with four people, but it had two beds and a futon, and it was just a two minute walk away from a small pool. Gwen had lived in much tighter spaces; she was sure they’d all be fine.

Though the sky was already starting to dim and the air was chilled, Nikki announced her plans for swimming about five minutes after they got into the room.  
David frowned. “I don’t know, Nik. I wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.”

Nikki rolled her eyes. “Davey. It’s almost June and it’s still 50 degrees outside. I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t like the idea of you being out there alone either. Who knows what kind of creeps could be lurking around here?” he countered.

Nikki’s leg twitched, and she stifled the urge to stomp her foot like a child throwing a tantrum. Clearly, that wouldn’t help David see her as an adult. That didn’t stop the impulse from digging its claws into her brain.

If Neil were here, he’d probably remind her to be patient with David. He knew how Candy and Campbell were, and what Nikki had dealt with living under their roof, and he was just protective of her. And she knew that; really, she did. David was the first person who actually offered her any stability. She had always known, even as a kid, that Candy loved her, but not enough to be a real parent. If she wanted something done, she did it herself. David tried to undo that thinking, and encouraged her to go to him with any trouble. He offered her a soft place to land, and she knew she could never truly articulate how much that meant to her.

Still. 

If Candy treated her more like a college roommate than a daughter, David treated her more like a toddler than a teenager.

She resisted the urge to get upset-- _he’s just looking out for you, Nik_ \-- and just motioned to Max. “I’m not alone. Max is coming with.”

It appeared Max was used to being pulled into all of Nikki’s arguments, and he shrugged.

“Yeah, and come on, she’ll just be a minute away,” Gwen added.

David hesitated, looking back and forth from Gwen and Nikki.

Nikki insisted, “Gwen gets it! Come on, David. I can handle myself.”

David bit his lip. “Well, alright…”

_Well, I’m not waiting around for him to change his mind!_

Nikki hurried to her bag and pulled out a two-piece swimsuit.

She turned to Max. “Be right back!”

She half-jogged to the bathroom, suit tucked under her arm, and slammed the door shut. A few minutes later, she emerged back into the main quarters. 

She chose a swimsuit that Candy had helped her pick out a few years ago. Money had been a bit better then, and Candy was in one of her “trying to be a good mother” phases. They’d gone to the mall, and other than the discomfort of having her chest felt up during bikini top measurements, and Candy dragging her into a sex shop afterwards, it was, admittedly, kind of fun.

Candy made a passionate argument for an underwire top, since “it’s just a fact, Nicolette, you’re as flat as a board and need help”, but there was a line in the sand, and that was the line. Instead, she’d gone with a Carolina blue halter top and black high-waisted bottom. Something flattering that didn’t make her feel like a porn star. It made her feel nice. Pretty, maybe. Not that she really lingered on that thought.

Max’s eyes widened, and she could have sworn a faint blush paint across his cheeks, but the color was gone before she could dwell on it. It made her hide a delighted smile and bounce up and down on her feet. Max purposefully avoided her eyes, and started to head towards the door.

“Aren’t you gonna change?” Nikki questioned.

Max raised an eyebrow at her. “Nik, I ran away with exactly one bag. Which, amazingly, did not include swim trunks.”

Nikki cringed. “Shit. Sorry, man. Sure, let’s go.”

She followed him out the door, waving goodbye to David and giving Gwen a grateful smile on the way out.

The air was crisp on Nikki’s skin as she stepped into the night. The moon had risen while she changed, and the stars were out. She wondered if they’d be as bright in California as they were in Illinois, shining above her over the edge of the hotel’s red roof. The whole night gave her a happy, calm vibe, and that was a relief after the stress of her home life.

As they made their way to the pool, Max ditched his shoes and opted to carry them in his hands.

When they got to the pool, Max grinned at her.

“You gonna belly flop in?” he asked.

She beamed. “Of course! I can do some pretty sick dives, too. Watch!”

She backed up a few feet to get a running start, and ran towards the water, angling her body into a graceful swan dive.

She emerged, spitting out water and long green hair clinging to her neck. “How’d I do?”

Max laughed, something like thinly veiled affection in his eyes. “I’m gonna be real, I thought you were gonna trip and split your face open while you were running. Once you hit the water, that was already the best case scenario.”

She splashed water at his legs. “Dick!”

Still laughing, Max sat down at the edge of the pool and dipped his legs in.

She pulled herself up next to him and shook her head like a dog, the droplets hitting his tan skin.

For a moment, there was just companionable silence and they stared into the night, their legs swishing through the water absentmindedly. Then, Nikki spoke, breaking the stillness.  
“I used to go to hotels a lot, you know.”

Max looked over at her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Candy… she, uh, used to date some unsavory dudes. Like, Campbell is a skeezebag but he’s still better than a lot of her exes. And some of these unsavory dudes were married, so they would get a room here and my mom would meet them.” She furrowed her brows. “I’m making it sound more hooker-y than it actually was. They just didn’t want the wives to know, so they’d make up business conferences and stuff.”

Max looked vaguely concerned. “How do you know all of this?”

“Oh, I used to read her emails when I was home alone. See what she was up to.”

Max remained silent, just waiting for her to go on, so she did.

“She was weird. She saw the relationships as, like, genuine things instead of what they were, which was cheap affairs.” Nikki shook her head, her face full of judgement. “So she’d bring me with, and the guys never wanted me to be, like, in the next room over listening to them get it on with my mom, so I’d head down to the hotel pool and chill. Infiltrate birthday parties and happy families, make them accept me as one of their own. And then a wife would call, or something, and Mom-- I mean, Candy would come and get me.”

There was a beat.

“You know that’s really fuckin’ sad, right?” Max asked, his voice sharp.

Nikki shrugged. “IDK. It’s how I met my friend Neil. He was at this birthday party for a family friend, and he just hated them to death, so he ditched the party and played Marco Polo with me. ‘S’all good.”

Max’s jaw was clenched. “Not all good, Nikki. It’s still fucked up.”

Nikki stared at her pale legs, kicking through the water just to watch it ripple. She never did like talking about her mom much. Candy was Candy. Sugary sweet and almost totally insubstantial, just like the food she was named for.

_You don’t get you to choose your parents. It’s easy to come to terms with once you tell yourself you need to._

“Well, what about you?” Nikki asked. “You swim much as a kid?”

Max didn’t look at her.

“Okay, you don’t have to answer. I’ll take another lap.”

She slipped down into the pool again, sinking down until her head was completely submerged and her toes brushed the bottom of the pool. When she emerged again from the blue, Max was looking like he was trying to decide something.

Just as she was getting ready to swim away, he spoke.

“My parents… they didn’t really give a fuck about me. Still don’t. But we lived in this fancy, rich people neighborhood. In the summer, they always had pool parties. I never went, but at night I would sneak over the fence in my pajamas, take a dive.” 

He took a deep breath, and, impulsively, Nikki reached up and took his hand in hers. He held on for a second, squeezing tightly, and then dropped it.

“I always walked back into my house with the pajamas still soaking wet. I left puddles everywhere, ruined the kitchen floor a bunch of times. They never said anything. I wanted them to, just wanted them to look at me but-- they never did. They just fixed the floors.”

Nikki knew her eyes were wet, so she looked down at her hands in the water instead of him. He wouldn’t wanna see that. Inwardly, she wondered if it was worse to have parents that half-loved you or didn’t care for your existence at all. Candy was a careless, impulsive, and inattentive mother, but she was there. Sometimes. Sometimes was better than never.

She glanced upward again, and found that he was gazing off into the distance, his eyes glazed over. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to make him feel better, but before she could, both teens snapped their heads off at the sound of David’s panicked voice.

“Nikki… Max… we need you up here, now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! What's wrong with David and Gwen? Slight hint: before I scrapped it, my first version had a scene where Nikki introduces Neil and Max via skype, and Neil starts to tell her something about her mom before she hangs up on him. So... make of that what you will.


End file.
